Printing device.



Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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I. 0'cUII'/IPAIIGH. PRINTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2a. I9I4...

Pa'tnted Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETS`SHEET 2 AIWI IlIIIIII-IIIII A Tra/@IVE Y.

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EDMND OCUMPAUGH, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNGR TO DEFIANCE MACHINE COMPANY, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

'PRINTING pEvIcE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application ined .nine 29, 1914. serial no. seriele.

, in devices designed forprinting or impressing upon checks, drafts, or other negotiable instruments, characters or marks, by which -such instruments are limited as to the monetary or other value, the said markings being applied in such manner that fraudulent alteration is practically impossible.

l f The particular object of my inventioncis to provide novel and simple means for feeding the checks or drafts during the printing or marking thereof, as well as to properly space the' printed characters. y

A further object is to provide novel, simple and positive means for locking and hold- Aao ing the type or die wheel inthe successive printing positions. And a further object is to generally improve, simplify and cheapen theconstruction' of check printing and protecting devices.

Other features and part of the invention will be understood from the detailed description which follows, and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure is a top-plan view, and part section, taken on line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section, substantially o n line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section, substantially on line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 isa horizontal section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2. .FigV 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the gage-wheel and the arm which regulates the spacing of printed characters, arid locks kthe type-wheel in-'the printing position. In the drawings, l'and 14 represent re" spectively the upper 'and lower hollow casings,'which arer secured together near the rear' of the machine by screws 15, so as to provide a relatively narrow horizontal slot or opening 16 through which the checkor other instrument to be operated upon is automatically fed.

- 17 represents the type` or printing wheel which is journaled in the casing-13 by a.

shaft 18, the latter also supports a. gageywheel 19 concentric to wheel 1d, and a spurgear 20 by which the said wheels are driven, the said parts all preferably secured together and journaled on the shaft 18.

21 represents the index-wheel which bears Patented Nov. 2, 1915., i

the characters, words or letters correspondin'g to similar characters which are embossedA upon the periphery of the printing wheel 17. The index-wheel is journaled by a shaft 22 to one side of the casing 13, the inner end of said shaft supporting aspur-gear 23,

n which meshes with and drives gear 20. The

rotating of the index wheel toward the left rotates the wheels 17 and 19 in the opposite directions (see arrows in Figs. 1, 2 and 6).

For clearness in illustrating and describying my invention I have shown but sixteen different index and printing characters, which may be printed or impressed upon checks, or drafts, as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, c, 7, s, 9, 1o, 11, i2, M, C, s and a. These 4.all appear on the periphery vof the indexwheel 21, while the words representing those ordina'ls and letters, are embossed on the wheel 17, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and 3. The gage-wheel 19 is provided with radial -notches or slots in its periphery (see Fig. 6)

correspond exactly with the disposition and location of the index on the wheel 21. That is to say, when it is desired to impress the' word Dollars 7 on a check, the on wheel 21 is first brought opposite the pointer 24C (-see Fig. l), this brings the i Dollars notch in the gage19 at the top, and at the same time the embossed type for Dollars on the type-wheel 17 are at the bottom facing the slot 16, which is the printing position (see Figs. 1, 3 and 6). To hold the Wheel 17 in the printing position I provide a horizontal arm 25 which is rigidly `mounted on the up- .p'er .end of av vertically reciprocatable plunger 26, the latterl being slidable in a hollow bearing 27, disposed in the rear part of the casing 13. The forward end of the arm or bar 25 is bent to provide a lug G28 which,

when idle is held directly over the central top notch of the gage Wheel 19 (see full lines Figs. 2 and 3), and which when lowered immediately in advance of the printing of the characters on a check or draft enters the said notch for locking and holding the wheels 17, 19 and 21 stationary until the printing is effected. (See dotted lines Figs. 2, 3, and full lines Fig. 6). The gage 19 is movable with the type wheel 17, and may be an integral part of the type-wheel. IThe arm 25 and plunger 26 are moved downwardly for effecting the said locking by a.' spring 29, which connects to therear end 29 of the said arm. The plunger 26 and arm 25 are raised to the idle position shown in full lines in Figs. 2, 3 and 5, and in dotted lines in Fig. 6, by a cam 30 which engages a roller 31 carried by the lower end of said plunger. The said cam is mounted on a rock-shaft 32, the

:opposite ends of said shaft being journaled in the walls 33 and 33 of casing 14. The shaft 32, also carries a crank 34, to which a spring 35 connects and exerts its tension for holding the parts 25, 26 and 30 in the idle positions against the tension of spring 29 as shown in Figsf2, 3,4 and 5.

The printing or marking of checks, drafts, &c., may be carried out by any suitable embossing or impressing means, one of said means consisting of a platen of metal or a softer' material, as 36, disposed centrally beneath type-wheel 17, the upper face 36 of" the platen arranged to press the check or paper against the embossed type when the platen is raised during the printing operation. The platen 36 is mounted on a horit zontal lever 37, the rear end Aof which isi pivoted by a pin 38 to a lug 39, while the forward end of lever 37 is provided with a roller 40, which plays upon a cam 41, mounted-on a crank-shaft 42, supported by the wall '43 Vof casing 14 and a lug 44. 1 The shaft 42 supports the operating handle or crank 45, -by which the locking and printing work is effected. The shaft 42 also supports a crank 46 to which one end of a pitman or rod 47 is pivoted, the opposite end ofsaid rod being pivoted to the crank 34. The rocking of the shaft42 by the handle 45 through the rod 47 rocks the cams 30 and 41 to the same extent.

The face of the cam 41, as 48, for nearly 90O is a true arc of a circle the axis of which is the center of shaft 42, so that while the handle 45 is being moved downwardly during the first stage of the printing operation the roller 40 traverses the-face 48 without Ldisturbing the lever 37. At the end of the portion 48 there is an abrupt rise or throw, as at 49, which lifts the roller 40, and lever 37 and platen 36 (see dotted lines in Fig. 2). This impresses the platen against the underside of the check or paper, and eli'ects the printingand embossing 1n the usual way. During the leftward rocking of the cams 30 and 41, the former moves from the full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 at each operating stroke of the handle 45, and as the throw of the cam 30 decreases during the said movement, the plunger 26 and arm 25 instantly move downwardly undenthe pull of the spring 29, and the lug 28 of said arm enters the central notch at the top of the wheel 19. which locks and holds the wheels 17 and 19 until after the printing is donc. Although the movement of cam 30 is always the same, substantially 90, the same as the swing of the handle 45 and the cam 41, the plunger 26 and arm 25 can only descend the distances allowed by the varying depths of the character-notches in the gage 19, the said depth in each instance corresponding to the length of the word or character to be printed plus a uniform space to be left between the adiacent characters when impressed in the check or paper. As illustrative of the variation in the length of the saidV notches, attention is directed tothe notches for the characters 1. 2, 6, and l0 as compared with 7, 215, 12 and M (see Fig. 6).

After each impression of the characters on the check or paper, the latter is automatically fed .another step in the direction of the arrow 50 (Fig. 1), which indicates the courseoof the check through the slot 16. The feeding mechanism will now be described: 51 represents a tension roller iournaled in a holder 52, pivoted between lugs 53 of casing 13 beneath the index-wheel 21.

The holder has a handle 54 which may7 be depressed (see dotted lines Fig. 3) for raising the roller 51 for the insertion of the check or paper. A spring (not shown) mav be employed for depressing the roller 51 against a pair -of feed rolls 55, which are disposed in the casing 14 and their upper edges project through slots in the top 14 of said casing. The feed rolls 55 are mounted on one end of a shaft 56, journaled in lugs 57, the other end of' shaft '56supports a ratchet-wheel 58 which is operated in one direction by. a pawl 59 pivoted to a crank 60, which is loosely mounted on the shaft 56. The crank 60y is operated by a rod 61. the lower end of which is pivoted to said crank lwhile its upper end is pivoted bv a pin 62 to a lug'63 which depends from the rear end of arm 25. The downward movement of the arm 25 by the tension of spring 29 through the rod 61 rotates the crank 6() a distance corresponding to the depth of the notch into which lug 28 is thrust. '.lhis moves the pawl 59 a corresponding distance over the periphery of the ratchet 58. which is 'held stationary by the tension roller 5l upon rolls 55. `The feeding parts then remain in the position last described, until the operator lets go the handle 45 at theend of the printing stroke, whereupon the time rotates the ratchet 58 and rolls 55 the distance required to move or feed the check the vlength oflthe last` character printed thereon, plus the space between the said ,character and succeeding one. llhe turningl` andlsetting of the index-wheel 21, and the printing operation may then be repeated until the check or paper is written.

The inkinglof the type wheel may be v accomplished in any suitable manner, as by inking rolls 64 and`65.

To prevent too free a movement of the wheels 17 and 19 during the indexing, I provide a brake comprising a spring 6 6, preferably supported by the bottom plate 67 of casing 13, the free end of which engages the notches :of the gage' 19, as best seen in Figsl 2 and 6. 68, represents a ratchet wheel carried by shaft42, and 69 a pawl pivoted .to the casing 14, for' preventing the reversing of'handlel before its down stroke is com leted. L

'll e posi'tionandt travel of the check or other paper While being printed is controlled by agageu, which li's slidable lat,- -erally onA the plate 14".' The gage `70- is ,adjustable by means of a bolt 71 which passes through a slot in one arm' of the gage, and is then held rigidly in the adjusted position by a nut 72.. i

Each of the gage notches in wheel 19 are the same width at the bottom, and as the notchcsit tends to positively. hold the type wheelin the 4true printing position. y

AWhen the loperator depresses the handle i115 for printing the characters on the check,

-at the first movement of said handle, the

plunge'r 26 and.A arm 25 instantly gravitate vforl locking the gage and type wheels, although .the printing does not take place until near 4the end of the handle stroke [when the rise orhump 49 of the caiga 41 engages the roller 40 and lifts the platen 36. During the up stroke of the handle 45 the 'locking parts remain stationary until the cam 30 swings backward and-engagesroller 31, lifts plunger 26 and arm 25 and withdraws lug 28 from the notch in, wheel. 19.

' By this construction and arrangement the interval during which the type-wheel is locked and yheld stationary is nearly equal to `the upward and downward movements of handle 45. This is advantageous, because it allows the 'quick release of the operating handle without danger of contracting the spacing tbetwee'n-fjthe printed characters rllhe value of this feature will be appreciated when 'it is understood that in many of the older check-writing machines the sudden release or upstroke of the, handle causes the feeding parts to slip on the smooth paper to such extent that the suc-- ceeding chzoiracter frequently overlaps the preceding impression, thus rendering the markings illegible.

Having-thus described my invention, what I claim, is

1` In a printing device, the combination with a type-wheel, a platen coperating with said wheel, and a gage-wheel actuated by said type wheel, of a pair of cams, one Aof said cams actuating said platen, shafts for supportingfgsaid cams, means connecting said cams for` simultaneous operation, a mechanism coperating with the gage-wheel for automatically locking said type-wheel in the printing position when the second rcam is, moved in one direction, and means for moving the second cam in the opposite direction for unlocking said 'type-wheel and for feeding the paper after each printing operation. 2. In a printing device, the combination with a revoluble type-wheel, means for set'- ting said wheel ready for printing, of a locking mechanism comprising a notched wheel ca-rried by said type-wheel and a reciprocatable arm adapted Ato engage said notchedwheel, a feeding mechanism, a rod for 'actuating said mechanism, said rod connected to said arm, ahand-lever, a cam operated bysaidv lever for permitting the gravitation of said armand said rod,`and means actuating said-cam for raising said arm andv actuating said feeding mechanism.' Q3. In a check printer, the combination lug 28 substantiallv fits this portion of said s' with a Wheel having printing characters upon its periphery, means for rotating said wheel for successively bringingy saidcharacters into printing position, and a platen for pressing the paper against the characters, of a gage-wheel carried by the typewheel, a reciprocatable part coperating f with the @gage-wheel, a mechanism for feeding the paper, a rod for actuating said mechanism, sai'd rod connectedto. said reciprocatable part, a cam, saidl cam adapted when moved in one direction to permit the locking of the type-wheel and at the same time to permit said rod to move into position for actuating said -feeding mechanism, means for operating said cam in the opposite direction for releasing the type-wheel and for and means for connecting said cams for simultaneous operation.

5. A printing device, having in combination a type-wheel, a shaft for supporting said wheel, a gage-wheel mounted upon said shaft concentric to said type-wheel, a platen, a cani for actuating said platen, a locking mechanism coperating with the gage-wheel and operative by gravity for locking the type-wheel in the printing position, a cam in constant engagementy with parts of said mechanism adapted to release said typewlieel, means for connecting said cams for simultaneous operation, and means for actuating said cams;

6. device of the class described, including a type-wheel and means for rotating said vvheel for successively bringing the characters thereon into printing position, a notched gage carried by said wheel, a vertically mov` able arm for engaging the notches of said gage for holding` said wheel immovable dui'- ing the printing operations, a platen coperating with the type-wheel, a hand lever for operating said platen, a cam operated by saidA lever for permitting the gravitation of..

said arm, and means actuating said cam for releasing said arm from said gage. l

7. A device of the class described, including-a type-wheel and means for rotating said wheel for successively bringing the cha-racters thereon into printing position, a notched gage carried by said wheel, an arm adapted to gravitate into the notches of said gage for holding said wheel immovable during the printing operations, a platen coperatiiig with said type-wheel, a hand lever for operatingsaid platen, a cani operated by said lever for p lmitting the gravitation of said arm, means actuating said cani for releasing said arin'from said gage, and means engaging the notches in said gage for preventing the accidental'rotation of said type-wheel while said arm is disengaged.

.-8. In a printing device, the combination with -a type-wheel, an index-wheel, a platen, a .:heck-eeding mechanism, and a handlever for operating said platen, of a gagewlieel carried by said type-wheel, said gage wheel having radial notches of ,varying depth in theperiphery thereof, an arm haviiig'fa lug adapted lto engage the notches in said gage-wheel, a vertically reciprocating plunger supporting and operating saidarm, said plunger operable by gravity for entering said lug in the said notches, a cam for moving said plunger in the opposite direction for withdrawing said lug from said notches, and means controlled by said arm for actuating said 'feeding mechanism.

i), In a printing device, the combination with a i'evoluble type-wheel, a platen coperating with Vsaid wheel, of a notched gagewheel carried by the type-wheel, the notches in said wheel varying in depth correspondhand-lever, a cam operated by said lever iiii the direction for permitting the gravitation of said arm for locking the type-wheel, and

means actuating said cain'foi'disengaging said arm from said notches and for causing -said rod to operate said feeding mechanism.

10. In a printing device, the combination with a type-wheel, a platen'and a hand level' for operating said platen, of a gage-wheel carried by and movable with said type-wheel, an arm cooperating with said gage-wheel for locking said type-wheel in printing position, a pair of rocking cams operatively connected with each other and with said hand-lever, one of said cams adapted to raise said platen against said type-wheel when said lever is moved downwardly, the other cam allowing the said arm to gravitate into a notch in said gage-wheel during thesaid movement of said lever, both of said cams rocked in the opposite direction by the raising of the said lever-,the first cani allowing said platen to move away from the type-wheel and the second cani raising said arm outl of engage nient with said gage-wheel.

11. ln a printing device, the combination of a revohible type-wheel having printing characters on its periphery and having radial gage-notches on one side coinciding with said characters, and means for setting said type wheel in the printing position, a locking mechanism comprising a reciprocatable arm adapted to engage said gage-liotclies for holding the type-wheel in the printing position, a reciprocatable part supporting and actuating said arm", and a cam control. ling the movements of said reciprocatable part.

12. In a check printing device, the combination with a type-wheel, an index-wheel for operating the type-wheel, and a platen cooperating with the type-wheel, of a mechanism for locking and holding said type wheel in -the printing positions comprising a notched wheel cai'ried by said type-wheel, an arm having a lug movable into and out of said notches, a spring for eifecting the engagement of said lug and said notches, a

cani for breaking the vengagement of said lug with said notches, a cani for operating said platen, a rod for connecting said cams,

ing said platen, an intermittent check feeding mechanism, a gage carried by seid type 'wheel and provided with peripheral notches of varying depths, an erin to engage seid notches for locking said type-wheel in the printing positions and for predeterinining the intermittent movements of the feeding mechanism, seid arin actuated :for locking 'the type-wheel by gravity during lthe initial -movement of said cam, and a second cern. fer

releasing said arm from seid notches.

14. In :i printingf device, revoluhle typewheel having printing characters on its pe-- riphery and. having radial gageenotches on one face coinciding with said characters,

means for rotatingsfiid type-Wheel fervhringi in zi pr" il;- n reveluble i ch if meel xnisein e, said type-wheel g, 'ters en che" chiding wheei Mil ies verging elniecters wenn icnntefl f1,

rod .operatively eonneeti." seid feeding inecf able to the seine e the peper verv 'i erin Yi'or i. ices eoircsiiioinling te the lengths el' t 3' clnu'ecters`- In testimony where enig. my signature in presence ei two esige-e. 

